Posted 5 years ago on Jan. 17, 2013, 3:43 a.m. EST by therising
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Incremental change isn't going to get the job done. We need a revolution.

Introductory note: We can get to the major nonviolent direct action described in very last link at bottom of this post, but first we need to start small. Make no mistake though: Just because actions are easy or small doesn't mean they can't create powerful shift in our country and the world. The small actions I'm about to describe are powerful, probably more powerful in the end than the action described in the link at bottom of this post.

The good news is that revolution has begun, but there's a way each of us can help increase the momentum and support exponentially. At first the method may seem deceptively simple but read on and check the links below, you may be rather surprised at the power you hold in your hands today to kick this puppy into high gear:

It's time for us to speak up in casual conversations in our daily lives and in more formal settings as individuals and in groups. It's time to say the emperor has no clothes. There is real power in this. It takes away the stigma of speaking up, makes it easier for others to speak their own minds. People already know the emperor has no clothes. Our revolution will slide into high gear when we, the millions, help them feel comfortable saying it out loud. This is our task. To embolden them. Once we do, we will have entered a virtuous cycle and there will be no stopping us. Check this out. . . HOW WE KICK REVOLUTION INTO HIGH GEAR AS INDIVIDUALS: http://occupywallst.org/forum/we-have-the-power-to-turn-this-world-around-this-o/ .

In addition to the minor and major nonviolent direct actions discussed at thst last link, direct, we need to also act on our own. Every chance we get, in a strategic, calm and considerate way, we need to make it plain, in the most casual of conversation when the topic comes up. Having more and more and more people doing this IS the revolution because once we hit that virtuous cycle, we will discover that we have more in common than we have separating us.

Once we discover that, we Americans will be able to make decisions from a position of unified strength instead of demands from a position of divided weakness.

67 Comments

"The United States has been on a three-decade binge of unreality, imbibing delusions that began with Ronald Reagan and have continued through the Tea Party. The challenge now is for rational Americans to show they have the toughness and tenacity to fight for the real world & to save it" writes Robert Parry.

"As private bankers entrap us all even further via their licence to print and loan currencies to national governments then also loan them the interest on it that spirals out of hand so it can never be paid back, they are able to line their pockets even further by buying up national assets on the cheap from the countries they bankrupted in the first place. It’s not racketeering. It’s austerity.

“And now they’re coming for your social security. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all sooner or later because they own this place.” (George Carlin, writer, critic & comedian.)

"And where is the mainstream media in all of this? Where are those journalists whose claim to respectability is their rigid professionalism, their accountability, their objectivity? If you can call professionalism, accountability & objectivity being in the pocket of and not wishing to offend advertising interests, officialdom, lobbyists or corporate think tanks - then they are paragons of absolute virtue!"

Take care, be well, recharge and recuperate - the winter is hard and long but spring will be with us soon and remember - it is always darkest before the dawn !!! Onwards and Upwards !! Solidarity @ The 99% !

"The US has tremendous people power." Our task in formidable, but, but we have always been able to right the injustices that we have endured in the past. I expect this time will be no different. One of the top priorities in our journey should be exposing, and discrediting the MSM.

From the time that I did not renew my Ganette owned local paper last year, I have been hounded by them to renew my subscription, and it is rarely the same person who calls me. I would imagine that I could tell them not to call me anymore, but I don't as I want to take the opportunity to let them know why I do not want to have their paper....So even though it was a hassle while I was in AK with those early morning calls..... because of the 4 hour time difference from the east coast, I continued my lttle 'education campaign' ;-). However knowing like everyone else, these callers are just trying to make a living, I am polite, but firm in letting them know that the corporate-owned news media has been corrupted, and people, especially young people ('like yourself' sometimes) are turning away from it en masse. I have also sent off several eamails to the editor and other departments heads in that paper criticizing their coverage of the the news.

Great statistics on how this country has been going down the tubes with our neoliberal policies. I printed them out. I still have to view the video tonight. PERSEVERANCE, or "Keep on keeping on" is another key to our ultimate victory, and building 'community' along the way is very important. As Chris Hedges has pointed out (in essence) 'these type of struggles never have a straight up-ward trajectory,' so it is important that we all be there for each other in times when we may feel overwhelmed. The world we want starts now.

Thanks for your continued good wishes, and support from across the pond...much appreciated. :-), and SOLIDARITY. I will view the video tonight....am getting ready...finding shovels...rakes...shit-kickers (bubber boots),etc. for a town-wide Sandy clean-up tomorrow with the 10 year old son of friends.

Yes I will 'beware of apolexy" ;-) as I have been reminded recently that I am not 20 anymore, but helping out others, however small my contribution may be, will add to my hopefully good legacy, with the added bonus of getting in better shape. I never did like those wedding registries, but a Sandy registry is a great idea.

Further, "Hurricane Sandy, if you are poor, is the Katrina of the North. It has exposed the nation’s fragile, dilapidated and shoddy infrastructure, one that crumbles under minimal stress. It has highlighted the inability of utility companies, as well as state and federal agencies, to cope with the looming environmental disasters that because of the climate crisis will soon come in wave after wave. But, most important, it illustrates the depraved mentality of an oligarchic and corporate elite that, as conditions worsen, retreats into self-contained gated communities, guts basic services and abandons the wider population.", from :

I have been a big fan of Hedges almost since this started, and I read his column including the above one in Truthdig every week. I picked up his book Death of The Liberal Class at the library last week too.

I remember seeing the movie/documentary The Yes Men Fix The World, and the segment that dealt with the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. Some residents whose homes/apartments were not seriously damaged were unable to return even though some of them had lived there a lifetime. Instead they were torn down, and elected officials conspired with big business to build hotels, and shopping centers where their residences once stood. This account was confirmed to me while speaking with a New Orleanian woman visitng in Alaska. So I realize that people who promote neoliberal policies are there to advance them especially in times of natural disasters. The kicker is, those same neoliberal policies are a good part of the reason we are having these catastrophies. So it is a double whammy, and we the 99% are the ones who suffer....both times.

On a side note, in the very first OWS protest that I took part in, We Got Mail For You (to the big banks in mid-town Manhattan).....for doing some of the grunt work, I was given a copy of the DVD The Yes Men Fix The World. I later found out that the guy who gave it to me was one of the stars (Joe Bonano) of that movie. While it is funny, it is very serious too. I'll try to find a link., and it touches on all that we have commented on here.

Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick have a new book out, The Untold History of the United States. This is a must read for anyone who wishes to understand more about the true history of this great nation. They also have a documentary series of the same name now showing weekly on Showtime. Although this writer has read countless books on the subjects covered by Stone and Kuznick, there was so much more that I never knew before. If only all our high school history students could have the opportunity to digest this information and balance it with what the mainstream educational system tosses their way. So, for those of you out there who will nod affirmatively to what the Stone & Kuznick report, you have clean hands. Simply put, you were against the acts of aggression that our leaders have orchestrated in our name, most recently the illegal and immoral invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course, just having clean hands is only half of it all. The real challenge is to use those clean hands by showing others not so aware that the truth is paramount. Speaking up and speaking out for a better way for us all to live is part of the cleansing process.

Too many of our former leaders and their handlers have had dirty hands. This Military Industrial Empire has been responsible for most of the mess this world finds itself in. By manipulating countless countries and strangling their voices for democracy, and then placing into power murderous and greedy puppets, the blowback has been tremendous. As the Stone & Kuznick book explains, it has always been about control of resources, cheap labor and markets abroad. It has never been about freedom for others… many our own citizens have seen that Big Lie right here at home. Sadly, the dirty hands of our 21st Century leaders have equaled or outdone the dirty hands of their predecessors. What the Bush / Cheney gang, as I call them, had done is unconscionable! To weave a campaign of half truths and outright lies so as to justify an act of aggression against a sovereign nation like Iraq is as low as one can ever get. Hitler and Goebbels could not have spun a greater excuse for preemptive war. Ten years later, our economy is down the tubes, as military spending sucks up more than half of our federal tax revenues. The dirty hands who control what Eisenhower (he of his own dirty hands) called the Military Industrial Complex are the selfish men and women who profited by the Iraq invasion and occupation… to the tune of hundreds of billions of your tax dollars! Thus, our treasury has had No money for Medicare for All… No money for infrastructure repairs and upgrades (which would have softened the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy) … No money for first providers… No money for schools and libraries… you don’t need to hear more, do you?

The real sadness is those who, by their own mindset, have no hands. They being, unfortunately, the majority of Americans, the overwhelming majority, who buy into the lies and fabrications, never once exhibiting what made America so great: skepticism. Either through apathy (“Hey, it ain’t my kids who are being Shock and Awed or killed in uniform “ ) or foolish jingoism (“USA USA… “) they rally round a flag that has been hijacked and abused by those with dirty hands. These lemmings are more concerned about some famous celebrity’s scandalous acts then the truth as to why 99% of us have to struggle just to stay above water. As long as they walk past we with clean hands and never listen or read what we are offering… karma can be a bitch!

~

veritas vos liberabit ...

~

{Philip A Farruggio is son and grandson of Brooklyn, NYC longshoremen. He is a free lance columnist. Philip works as an environmental products sales rep and has been an activist leader since 2000. In 2010 he became a local spokesperson for the 25% Solution Movement to Save Our Cities by cutting military spending 25%. Philip can be reached at paf1222@bellsouth.net }

The correlation between what our military/MIC does around the world in creating human misery...in our name..., and the amount of money spent doing so, at the expense of our citizens well being is a parallel that needs to be made over and over again. Failing to face up to these realities, and changing our course, we may well find ourselves bankrupt both financially, and morally.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke

On a side note, I love Brooklyn...a huge generality, I know, but 'those people have 'heart.' ;-)

"The real struggle confronting the United States is not between the Right and the Left in any traditional sense, but between those who believe in reality and those who are entranced by unreality. It is a battle that is testing whether fact-based people have the same determination to fight for their real-world view as those who operate in a fact-free space do in defending their illusions."

On a side note of your side note, I've got kin in Brooklyn & get what you say + thanx for the great quote.

Had to reply here. The Dodgers were to Brooklyn like the All Blacks are to the Kiwis...like tea and crumpets are to the Brits. Do you get the picture?? When O'Malley took them out of Brooklyn and brought them to La La Land, CA, Brooklynites, went crazy, and lost some of their heart, but have regained it finally. I met some old-timers years ago though who never got over that. The Dodgers, unlike the Yankees also symbolized the unpolished, working man's team, and the under-dogs, kinda like Occupy.

Also the first black man to play in the majors, Jackie Robinson, breaking in on the Dodgers in 1947. Sadly he knew that he would have to endure horrible taunts almost continuously from a racist America, and he was not allowed to sleep in the same hotel as his team-mates, at least not in the first few years he played. This very talented player endured all this to help pave the way for not only his career, but for the many that followed him. So in a lot of ways their struggles are like ours, but Robinson's was of course especially difficult, much like people of color are in our's, who have suffered far longer, and to a far greater degree. We must remember that.

Robinson, an early strong civil rights advocate said, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on others." he also said, "There is not an American in this country free until everyone of us is free." In 1997, every team in the league retired his # 42, and that was the first and only time that has happened in any sport. Every year tho, on Jackie Robinson Day every player wears that number.

In Queens too??...didn't run into any Latin speaking relatives of yours last night, but i met people with some of your tenacity....Good book, thinking of printing it out. I bet you would bat a thousand on Wall St. "fantasise"??....there you go substituting the s for a z again, not to mention completely mis-using that word altogether. ;-)

I am reluctant to say this because I know that people who preach morality seldom seem to have it, but for me, it comes down to: 'The noble struggle that we are in is not about Left vs. Right....rather, 'It is about what is morally right vs. wrong.' It's that simple...err for me anyway. Perhaps my simplicity was learned from my little *Hafita." while I was in AK. ;-)

On a side note to the side note, to my original side note to your....: You have "kin in Brooklyn"(?)...wish I did, instead mine are from Queens, but my parents met in Brooklyn. Anyway, I should have suspected that...as it explains much about your "tenacity." It can travel a long way, across great ponds even, and BTW that was a former pseudonym on here of mine whilst i was errrr... misbehaving I guess ;-) lol. And you probably also concur then that the Dodgers should never have left. That dang Mayor Wagner should have sold them that city owned piece of East River property that they wanted to buy. Instead it remained dormant for years.

Don't know much about 'the dodgers' - unless you mean those slippery scumbags of Wall Street and my - how I fantasise about talking a baseball bat to those parasites, lol. Solidarity to you and yours - wherever they may be ~*~

Critical thinking skills, and the seeming loss of them by so many people is a conversation one of my daughters....the anthropology major..., and I have had several times over the years. I think that many of us have become almost brain-washed by the MSM into running on sound bites, and catch phrases, and little else.

BTW, I picked up the book you suggested, Wisdom of The Elders, along with Death of The Liberal Class by Hedges. And another BTW, your contibutions on here have been great. You and shadz are truly in a class by yourselves.

Now off to get ready for a Sandy clean-up with a 10 year old son of friends. Practicing what you preach can be a real bitch sometimes, as sleeping longer would have been nice too. ;-)

~Odin~

I..... like I noticed you did in another comment to someone else have a lot of faith in the millenial generation, as I have witnessed their awakening first hand. It has been not only surprising, but very, very heartening to me. And the revival by them, with all their energy....more than anything else is going to be what ensures our ultimate victory.

I shared your view for a long time that this generation is "apathetic," but after witnessing the awakening in the form of the Occupy movement, my thinking has changed drastically.

I remember my first trips to Zucotti/Liberty Park. I was in awe, to say the least as I circled, and went through the park repeatedly talking to people along the way. The people that I have befriended over the last 17-18 months, and yes even love, and who are closer to the heart of this movemnt are very bright, very determined mostly young people...millenials.

Seeing that "proaganda... [in the] land of the free" breaking down is very encouraging, as well as it is a sign of people 'recovering', and hopefully awakening from their CMSM coma-like stupor. Good link

This is excellent and I feel the tipping point is facing UP. We will be going forward because that is all there is. Simple works and your ability to state things is super. I believe this is our task and I am sure we will be successful at doing it. My personal issue is having everything I say (even just in personal conversation i.e.telephone-microphone) is taken and used to sell,marketing or used against others. I heard that this would be the case in a song and it is. I am therefore not able to say what I would. When I try to ignore this factor and then see it played out causing upset for others it is not only hard for them but I also suffer. This is do to Merry Prankstered my real life at 10 years old and I am now 48. B.I.T.R. the most progressive political alternative ever organized by Ken Kesey and friends. Check it out if you can find it I can find very little. The ideals I picked up there can make a huge difference now but How or when can I say them. During the next campaign is how I continue and what does a person that goes loopty do anyway.

If one person can be convinced that there are things they themselves can do, to change the world for the better, that one person will have an effect upon others, who in turn, will reverberate that effect to even more.

On the contrary, if one person is allowed to be made adamant, that the world is 'as such', then that change becomes impossible, and that one person will spread the disease of apathy like a plague.

The responsibility lay entirely in the hands of those who wish to change the world for the better. If argumentative behavior and insults are the method used to 'educate' others, than apathy will continue to reign supreme. If patience and calm collected self discipline, are the methods used to 'educate' others, than knowledge will spread to everyone.

"Revolution" seems less applicable than "Awakening", but I guess a mass awaking is revolutionary.

It is SO important to not just state a complaint but to invite others into the conversation by asking how they feel about something so that they can begin to develop their own opinions. I think the problem with many is that they simply don't have enough knowledge to form a firm opinion and so they tend to just avoid topics altogether. Help others find and develop their voice. It's the best form of activism we can offer.

We all have issues that are more important to us than to others so it's important to prioritize based on what will have the greatest effect to least effect. I think it's most important that everyone donate money to me so I can pay my rent...hahahaha ( sorry)

ACTION=CONSEQUENCE:

I'm a visual person so I like to draw flow charts. If we had a flow chart of how a specific issue/change would effect us incrementally from immediately to 2 years, 5 years 10 years. I think it would help others to see just how important and beneficial a single specific action can be. We could draw poster charts and target certain areas like banks, groceries, doctors offices, medical schools/universities, to draw support through education.

You also make an excellent point about being gentle, calm and respectful when talking to people. You may have seen Alex Jones on Piers Morgan the other night........THAT kind of activism does not work. I know, I've been there and done that myself. It screams ( literally), ' panic,drama, hysteria) and people won't take you seriously. I never screamed at anyone but I was very passionate about something and perhaps over-bearing. Anyway, it's best to just calmly keep to the facts.

A person coming out of a coma after a car wreck is disoriented and confused, the medical staff is there for that person with patience, calm and compassion. It is imperative that those who wish to help remain as such.

Allowing someone to adjust to the world around them, by simply stating the obvious, when they are disoriented, in my opinion is the best approach. It is hard to be condescending when you truly do care.

Rising, I did something completely against my ' religion' and went into a Walmart today. I had to get some dish sponges but my main purpose was to check out the employees and perhaps strike up a conversation. The employees I saw looked really tired, were very busy, not happy and I did not want to interrupt them but I finally managed to speak to a woman who worked in the eye department. I inquired about glasses and she asked if I had insurance and I told her no. She told me that she didn't have insurance but that most people do so she just assumed I did. Well, that's when the conversation began. We discussed a few things including Obamacare and she was opposed to it. She told me that she was told not to discuss this with anyone but I explained to her that I really wanted to hear her thoughts if she had a moment. She had a teenage son, no insurance was making 8 dollars an hour and she talked about how her check was much smaller now- thanks to Obama. She told me that there was nothing we could do about Obamacare and that we'd have to live with it but that it was going to break her and this country. She had to leave at that point but I told her that despite our leadership she does have the choice to use her voice and she should. She didn't seem to encouraged.
Walmart is horrible. I felt like I was lost in space filled with grime and grit and nasty food. Yuk.

Gillian you are right on my page !!! Going into Wal-Mart is against my religion also (though once I bought protest signs in there because I like the irony that their product might help me beat them.) But going in there does make me feel dirty spiritually and physically. Employees in Wal-Mart aren't allowed to talk about these things if they are over-heard discussing it they will get fired. A woman I worked with who in a previous life worked in a chemical factory full time and a convenient store with me full time on top of it (my second job also) went to work there - she was laid off from the chemical company and had to get a job at Wal-Mart to help ends meet at home. She had all kinds of health problems from the chemicals at her last job, and her husband who worked there was very ill as well, but she had always made decent pay so she worked hard and toughed it out and carried that ethic right along with her I'm sure even for the pittance they pay. I saw her in there and we tried to talk, she kept looking around frightened when I asked her if they were treating her well there, and about how she was doing in general. (She was very thin and frail) Management was leering over our shoulders the whole time until she went darting off back to sweeping. I felt like I was in some Orwellian dream ... horrible. I feel sorrow for all the people whose jobs were sent overseas and as a last desperate resort must tolerate such treatment without any benefits or healthcare. Thanks once again Wal-Mart for setting the business model that has got the citizens of this country crawling to the likes of you for a job on their knees. A lifetime of hard work gets you cheering in a blue smock forced to suck up to an asshole business dick while your dignity was off-shored with your last job. I guarantee not one Walton or store manager clones has ever worked one day as hard as this women has in her entire lifetime. Yay Hooray for you and the ethics you borrowed from Satin.

Elf, too funny about the protest signs! Going into that store really is a horrible spiritual experience. It's like you've been sent to hell and are witnessing the very worst of our civilization. I know most people don't ' get that' like we do but it really is hell. It's bad karma all the way around. All I could think about was all that stuff made by slaves being purchased by us and brought into our homes. It's no wonder our world is in this state of spiritual and physical decline. Thanks for explaining about big brother Wally. I sort of figured that was the deal and I didn't want to pressure anyone. But, I did have visions of rounding everyone up and revolting!
We've all compromised our self worth long enough. It's time to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off , stand tall and command more from everyone. We are worth it!

Thanks for the encouragement West. Let's take all out angst and channel it into nonviolent action. Where do you see occupy movement in a year or two? Where do you see America in a year or two if we take appropriate actions? How about 5 years?

1) Minds open up, positions soften a little, cooler heads prevail.
2) Many will look at Congrssional legislation to try to turn it to an advantage for individual and collective causes.
3) Eric Holder is standing in the way of Prosecution and Aiding and Abbetting the Enemy.
4) Eric Holder needs pressure and needs to take on Responsibility even if it is just a profession or repuation hit.
5) Somehow we need to get President Obama on the Side of OWS. He needs to take a hit politically.

in europe they uses sticks and stones in clashes with the law. In Russia they involved political figures, artists musicians. they gazering dozen thousand people. In here, everybody are free to have own opinion on the subject but afraid of big brozer . big eye watching you, be careful of what you do :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WEpcweXVJh8

People small things do add up to be huge when taken all together ( give me one penny for every financial transaction in the world for one day ).

Consider also in another form - it is the little things in life that will make or break someone - the daily stuff - not the big singular/rare events - nope the daily small stuff that either irritates or soothes.

Going after TPTB in many diversified actions - Makes Em Crazy - They keep slapping and scratching and itching but can get no relief.

Get some rest relax recharge - you have been working very hard - and you need some quality time for yourself - take it. Especially now - meditate remember celebrate - get past the loss and jealousy that your friend has left this mess and met the bigger picture the wider wonder beyond this mess - loss hurts - are we not selfish for wanting all of our best to remain with us(?) - take some time and celebrate a friends growth.

Ah, well. . . My friend that I lost was my dog. So I don't think he saw this world as a mess at all. He enjoyed the hell out of life, was present all the time, alive to all the vivid beauty all around him. And his presence always reminded me of those things too. Animals can remind us that it's actually simpler than we think :)